Small item dispenser

ABSTRACT

A dispenser for dispensing small items such as pieces of candy is disclosed herein. The dispenser includes a base and a cover rotatably coupled to the base, the base and the cover defining a main cavity thereinbetween. The dispenser includes a pocket within the base that can be separated from the main cavity by rotatable movement of the cover. The cover includes a divider for at least substantially blocking off the pocket from the main cavity when the cover moves from a closed position to an open position such that small items cannot enter the pocket. When the cover is in the closed position, a small item can enter the pocket but cannot be accessed from outside the small item dispenser, and, when the cover is in the open position, the pocket can be accessed from outside the small item dispenser without small items being able to enter the pocket from the main cavity.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to dispensers. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to dispensers for dispensingsmall items such as pieces of candy.

BACKGROUND

Containers for storing and dispensing small items such as tablets orpieces of candy are well known. Some examples of small item dispensersmay include a removable screw top, a peelable seal, a slidable cover, ora snap-fit cap or opening. Once these closures are opened, the itemswithin the containers may be freely poured from the container. Oneproblem often encountered with the dispensers found in the art is thattheir designs make it difficult for users to control the amount of itemsto be dispensed from the container. A person wanting one, two, or a fewtablets or pieces of candy often has a difficult time controlling theamount of items dispensed from the container and usually has to resortto discarding the unwanted pieces.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a dispenser adapted foreasily dispensing small items such as pieces of candy. In one exampleembodiment, the dispenser includes a base and a cover rotatably coupledto the base, the cover and the base defining a main cavitythereinbetween. The dispenser includes a pocket within the base that canbe separated from the main cavity by rotatable movement of the coverwith respect to the base. The cover includes a divider for at leastsubstantially blocking off the pocket from the main cavity when thecover moves from a closed position to an open position such that smallitems cannot enter the pocket. When the cover is in the closed position,a small item can enter the pocket but cannot be accessed from outsidethe small item dispenser, and, when the cover is in the open position,the pocket can be accessed from outside the small item dispenser withoutsmall items being able to enter the pocket from the main cavity.

Examples representative of a variety of inventive aspects are set forthin the description that follows. The inventive aspects relate toindividual features as well as combinations of features. It is to beunderstood that both the forgoing general description and the followingdetailed description merely provide examples of how the inventiveaspects may be put into practice, and are not intended to limit thebroad spirit and scope of the inventive aspects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dispenser in accordance with theprinciples of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the dispenser of FIG. 1,showing a base and a cover of the dispenser separated from each other;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the dispenser of FIG. 1, shown in a closedposition, the internal features of the base and the cover of thedispenser shown with hidden lines;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the dispenser of FIG. 1, shown in an openposition, the internal features of the base and the cover of thedispenser shown with hidden lines;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the base of the dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the base of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a right side view of the base of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the base of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the cover of the dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the cover of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a front view of the cover of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a right side view of the cover of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of adispenser in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a top view of the dispenser of FIG. 13, shown in a closedposition, the internal features of the base and the cover of thedispenser shown with hidden lines; and

FIG. 15 is a top view of the dispenser of FIG. 13, shown in an openposition, the internal features of the base and the cover of thedispenser shown with hidden lines.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a dispenser 10 in accordance with the principles ofthe present disclosure. The dispenser 10 includes a base 12 and a cover14. The base 12 and the cover 14 are separably coupled to each other.Once coupled, the base 12 and the cover 14 are rotatable with respect toeach other.

The base 12 and the cover 14 define an interior storage volume 16 forholding a plurality of items 18. As will be discussed in further detailbelow, the interior storage volume 16 includes a main cavity 20 and apocket 22 separable from the main cavity 20, wherein the pocket 22 isseparated from the main cavity 20 by the rotation of either the base 12or the cover 14 with respect to the other.

The dispenser 10 includes a first major side 24 and a second opposingmajor side 26. In the depicted embodiment, the first major side 24 ofthe dispenser 10 is defined by the base 12 and the second major side 26of the dispenser 10 is defined by the cover 14. When the dispenser 10 isassembled (as shown at FIGS. 1, 3, and 4), the major sides 24, 26 opposeand are generally parallel to one another. As defined herein, the term“major side” is a side having a larger surface area than the other sidesof the dispenser.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 6, in one embodiment, a relatively thin spacingS is provided between the major sides 24, 26. In one example embodiment,the spacing S is sized such that only a single layer of items 18 can beprovided within the dispenser 10. For example, in one embodiment, thespacing S is less than two times the diameter of the items (e.g.,spheres) held within the dispenser 10. In a preferred embodiment, thespacing S is only slightly larger than the diameter of the items 18 heldwithin the dispenser 10.

It will be appreciated that a variety of different types of items can bedispensed from the dispenser 10. Preferred items include pieces ofcandy. In one embodiment, the pieces of a candy can include pieces ofhard candy. In a preferred embodiment, the items can include liquidfilled (e.g., mint filled) candy. In one example embodiment, the itemscan include balls or spheres of candy including outer gelatin coatingsand an inner liquid candy filling (e.g., a mint filling).

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the cover 14 is rotatably coupled withrespect to the base 12 between a closed position (FIG. 3) and an openposition (FIG. 4). The open position of the cover 14 may be defined asthe position wherein small items 18 are accessible from an outside ofthe dispenser 10. The closed position of the cover 14 may be defined asthe position wherein small items 18 are not accessible from an outsideof the dispenser 10.

When the cover 14 is in the closed position of FIG. 3, items can enterthe pocket 22 from the main cavity 20, but are not accessible fromoutside the dispenser 10. When the cover 14 is moved to the openposition of FIG. 4, an opening 28 (i.e., a dispensing opening) definedon the cover 14 aligns with the pocket 22 such that item(s) 18 withinthe pocket 22 can be dispensed through the opening 28. By rotating thecover 14 back and forth between the positions of FIGS. 3 and 4, multipleitems 18 can be removed from the storage volume 16 of the dispenser 10and dispensed through the opening 28. In the depicted embodiment, thecover 14 is turned in a clockwise direction with respect to the base 12to bring the cover 14 from the closed position to the open position.

Referring now to FIGS. 5-12, the base 12 and the cover 14 are shown incloser detail. The base 12 defines a generally circular configurationwith an inner face 30 that faces the interior storage volume 16 and anouter face 32 that faces the outside of the dispenser 10. The cover 14also includes a generally circular configuration. The cover 14 includesan inner face 34 that opposes the inner face 30 of the base 12 and anouter face 36 that faces the outside of the dispenser 10. It will beappreciated that a variety of different shapes can be used for the base12 and the cover 14 to form the dispenser 10.

The cover 14 includes a mounting post 38 (FIGS. 10-12) and the base 12includes a mounting post receiver 40 (FIG. 1) for receiving the mountingpost 38 to couple the cover 14 to the base 12. It will be appreciatedthat the portion of the dispenser 10 that includes the mounting post 38and the portion of the dispenser that includes the mounting postreceiver 40 can be switched. While the cover 14 and the base 12 areseparated from one another, the items 18 to be dispensed can be loadedinto the interior storage volume 16. After loading the items 18 into thedispenser 10, the base 12 and the cover 14 can be mounted together withthe mounting post 38 of the cover 14 received in the mounting postreceiver 40 of the base 12.

Referring to FIGS. 6-7, the base 12 includes a peripheral flange 42defining a lower sidewall of the dispenser 10. As illustrated in FIGS.11-12, the cover 14 also includes a peripheral flange 44 defining anupper sidewall of the dispenser 10. When the cover 14 is coupled to thebase 12, the flanges 42, 44 of the base 12 and the cover 14 define thegenerally circular sidewall of the dispenser 10.

Referring to FIGS. 10-12, the peripheral flange 44 of the cover 14includes an interior extension 46 which is configured to fit inside theperipheral flange 42 of the base 12 when the dispenser 10 is assembled.An outer lip 48 is defined between the cover's peripheral flange 44 andthe interior extension 46 thereof. The peripheral flange 42 of the base12 abuts against and rides along the outer lip 48 when the base 12 andthe cover 14 are assembled and rotated with respect to each other. Theflange configurations of the base 12 and the cover 14 can also beswitched.

As discussed previously, the base 12 defines a pocket 22 that isseparable from the main cavity 20 by the rotation of the cover 14 or thebase 12 with respect to the other. Referring to FIGS. 2-5, the pocket 22is defined between a first wall 50 extending upwardly from the innerface 30 of the base 12, a second wall 52 extending upwardly from theinner face 30 of the base 12, and a portion of the peripheral flange 42of the base 12. The first wall 50 extends generally radially from theperipheral flange 42 of the base 12. The second wall 52 defines agenerally L-shaped configuration. The second wall 52 includes curvedportion 54 (FIGS. 2 and 5) giving the pocket 22 a funnel-like shape forfacilitating loading of small items 18 into the pocket 22. The loadingof items 18 into pocket is illustrated by arrow D in FIG. 3.

The pocket 22 includes an open end 58 configured to communicate with themain cavity 20. The pocket 22 also includes an open side 60 (FIG. 6)that is configured to communicate with the dispensing opening 28 of thedispenser 10 when the cover 14 is in the open position.

As shown at FIGS. 9 and 10, the dispensing opening 28 of the cover 14 isdefined through the second major side 26 of the dispenser 10. When anitem 18 moves into the pocket 22 from the main cavity 20, the item 18moves along a path of travel aligned along a plane P (FIG. 2) that isgenerally parallel to the first and second major sides 24, 26. When theitem 18 is dispensed through the opening 28, the item 18 travels throughthe open side 60 of the pocket 22 and through the second major side 26in a direction that is generally perpendicular relative to the plane P.

In one embodiment, the pocket 22 is sized to hold at least one smallitem. Although the pocket 22 can be sized to hold any number of smallitems 18 (depending upon the size of the small items stored in thestorage volume), according to one preferred embodiment, the pocket 22 issized relative to the small items such that it can hold exactly onesmall item 18. In such an embodiment, as depicted, the dispenser 10allows the items 18 to be individually dispensed from the interiorstorage volume 16.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 4, and 10, the cover 14 includes a divider 62 forat least substantially blocking off the pocket 22 from the main cavity20 when the cover 14 moves from the closed position to the open positionsuch that small items 18 cannot enter the pocket 22 from the main cavity20. When the cover 14 is in the closed position, as shown in FIG. 3, asmall item 18 can enter the pocket 22 but the small items 18 cannot beaccessed from outside the dispenser 10. When the cover 14 is in the openposition, as shown in FIG. 4, the pocket 22 can be accessed from outsidethe dispenser 10 without small items 18 being able to enter the pocket22 from the main cavity 20 being blocked off by the divider 62.

Still referring to FIGS. 3, 4, and 10, the divider 62 is defined by awall 64 that extends downwardly from the inner face 34 of the cover 14.The wall 64 is generally perpendicular to the first and second walls 50,52 of the base 12 to at least substantially block off the pocket 22 fromthe main cavity 20 when the cover 14 is rotated from the closed positionto the open position.

Referring to FIGS. 2-5 and 10, the dispenser 10 preferably includespositive stops for stopping the cover 14 in the positions of FIGS. 3 and4. In one embodiment, the downwardly extending wall 64 of the cover 14defining the divider 62 includes a tab portion 66 (FIG. 4) that isconfigured to make contact with the first upwardly extending wall 50 ofthe base 12 to stop the cover 14 from rotating past the closed position.The tab 66 may be referred to herein as the first stop.

Still referring to FIGS. 2-5 and 10, the cover 14 may also include adownwardly extending second wall 68 that is generally perpendicular tothe divider 62. In the depicted embodiment, the second wall 68 isintegrally formed with the divider 62. The second wall 68 of the cover14 is configured to contact the first upwardly extending wall 50 of thebase 12 when the cover 14 is rotated from the closed position to theopen position to stop the cover 14 from rotating past the open position.The second wall 68 of the cover 14 may be referred to herein as thesecond stop.

As discussed above, when the second stop 68 has engaged the firstupwardly extending wall 50 of the base 12, (i.e., while the cover is inthe open position), the pocket 22 is blocked off from the main cavity 20by the divider 62 such that small items 18 cannot enter the pocket 22.However, if a small item 18 has previously entered the pocket 22, thatsmall item 18 is accessible from the pocket 22 when the cover 14 is inthe open position, as shown in FIG. 4.

As discussed above, when the first stop 66 has engaged the firstupwardly extending wall 50 of the base 12 (i.e., while the cover is inthe closed position), the pocket 22 is open to the main cavity 20 suchthat small items 18 can enter the pocket 22. However, since the pocket22 is not aligned with the dispensing opening 28, a small item 18 in thepocket 22 cannot be accessed from outside the dispenser 10.

FIGS. 13-15 illustrate a second embodiment of a dispenser 110 inaccordance with the principles of the present disclosure. The dispenser110 includes features similar to the dispenser 10 shown in FIGS. 1-12,except that dispenser 110 includes a different first stop configurationthan the dispenser 10. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13-15, the firststop is defined by a third upwardly extending wall 166 of the base 112.The third wall 166 extends generally radially inwardly from theperipheral flange 142 of the base 112. The third upwardly extending wall166 is configured to make contact with the second downwardly extendingwall 168 (i.e., the second stop) of the cover 114 when the cover 114rotates to the closed position. In such an embodiment, the tab portion66 of the divider 62 (see FIGS. 3, 4, and 10) may be eliminated and thethird upwardly extending wall 166 of the base 114 acts as the first stopwhen it contacts the second downwardly extending wall 168.

The above specification provides examples of how certain inventiveaspects may be put into practice. It will be appreciated that theinventive aspects can be practiced in other ways than those specificallyshown and described herein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the inventive aspects.

1. A small item dispenser comprising: a base; a cover rotatably coupledto the base to define a main cavity thereinbetween for holding smallitems, the cover rotatable with respect to the base between a closedposition and an open position; and a pocket within the base that can beseparated from the main cavity, the pocket sized to receive and hold atleast one small item; wherein the cover includes a divider for at leastsubstantially blocking off the pocket from the main cavity when thecover moves from the closed position to the open position such thatsmall items cannot enter the pocket, and, wherein, when the cover is inthe closed position, the at least one small item can enter the pocketbut cannot be accessed from outside the small item dispenser, and,wherein, when the cover is in the open position, the pocket can beaccessed from outside the small item dispenser without small items beingable to enter the pocket from the main cavity.
 2. A small item dispenseraccording to claim 1, further comprising a first stop configured to stopthe cover from rotating past the closed position and a second stopconfigured to stop the cover from rotating past the open position withrespect to the base.
 3. A small item dispenser comprising according toclaim 1, wherein the base includes a first upwardly extending wall and asecond upwardly extending wall, the first wall and the second walldefining the pocket thereinbetween and the cover including a firstdownwardly extending wall oriented generally perpendicularly to thefirst and second walls of the base to at least substantially block offthe pocket from the rest of the cavity when the cover moves from theclosed position to the open position such that a small item cannot enterthe pocket.
 4. A small item dispenser according to claim 3, furthercomprising a first stop configured to stop the cover from rotating pastthe closed position and a second stop configured to stop the cover fromrotating past the open position with respect to the base, wherein thefirst stop is configured to make contact with the first wall of the basewhen the cover is in the closed position and the second stop isconfigured to make contact with the first wall of the base when thecover is in the open position.
 5. A small item dispense according toclaim 4, wherein the first stop includes a tab extending away from thefirst downwardly extending wall of the cover generally toward the firstwall of the base such that the tab contacts the first wall of the basewhen the cover is in the closed position and wherein the second stopincludes a second downwardly extending wall of the cover that extendsaway from the first downwardly extending wall of the cover generallytoward the first wall of the base such that the second stop contacts thefirst wall of the base when the cover is in the open position.
 6. Asmall item dispenser according to claim 3, wherein the second stop isconfigured to make contact with the first wall of the base when thecover is in the open position and the first stop is configured to makecontact with the second stop when the cover is in the closed position.7. A small item dispenser according to claim 6, wherein the second stopincludes a second downwardly extending wall of the cover that extendsgenerally away from the first downwardly extending wall of the covertoward the first wall of the base such that the second stop makescontact with the first wall of the base when the cover is in the openposition and wherein the first stop includes a third upwardly extendingwall of the base configured to make contact with the second stop whenthe cover is in the closed position.
 8. A small item dispenser accordingto claim 1, wherein the cover and the base include a generally roundconfiguration.
 9. A small item dispenser according to claim 1, whereinthe pocket is generally trapezoidal.
 10. A small item dispenseraccording to claim 3, wherein the second wall of the base includes arounded portion to assist small items in entering the pocket.
 11. Asmall item dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the cover is turnedin a clockwise direction with respect to the base to bring the coverfrom the closed position to the open position.
 12. A small itemdispenser according to claim 1, wherein the cover includes a dispensingopening configured to communicate with the pocket when the cover is inthe open position.
 13. A small item dispenser according to claim 5,wherein the first and the second stops are integrally formed with thefirst downwardly extending wall of the cover.
 14. A small item dispenseraccording to claim 1, wherein the cover is removably coupled to the baseto allow loading of small items into the main cavity defined between thecover and the base.
 15. A small item dispenser according to claim 1,wherein the pocket is sized to receive and hold at most one small item.16. A small item dispenser comprising: a first portion and a secondportion rotatably disposed with respect to the first portion, the secondportion rotatable between a closed position and an open position, thefirst portion including a first major side and the second portionincluding a second major side; a main cavity for holding small itemspositioned between the first and second major sides; and a pocketseparable from the main cavity by rotatable movement of the secondportion with respect to the first portion from a closed position to anopen position, wherein the pocket communicates with the main cavity forreceiving at least one small item when the second portion is in theclosed position and wherein the pocket is not accessible from an outsideof the small item dispenser when the second portion is in the closedposition; wherein, when the second portion is moved from the closedposition to the open position, the pocket becomes substantially blockedoff from the main cavity and the pocket becomes accessible from theoutside of the small item dispenser.
 17. A small item dispenseraccording to claim 16, wherein the first portion and the second portioninclude a generally round configuration.
 18. A small item dispenseraccording to claim 16, wherein the second portion includes an accessopening configured to communicate with the pocket when the secondportion is moved to the open position.
 19. A small item dispenseraccording to claim 16, wherein the second portion is rotated in aclockwise direction with respect to the first portion to bring thesecond portion from the closed position to the open position.
 20. Asmall item dispenser according to claim 16, further comprising a firststop configured to stop the second portion from rotating past the closedposition and a second stop configured to stop the second portion fromrotating past the open position with respect to the base.
 21. A smallitem dispenser according to claim 16, wherein the second portion isseparable from the first portion for loading small items into the maincavity.
 22. A small item dispenser according to claim 16, wherein thepocket is sized to receive and hold at most one small item.